California faces “life-threatening” blizzard conditions

Forecasters are warning residents of that space, together with Lake Tahoe, to brace for “life-threatening blizzard situations” as a serious winter storm brings sturdy winds and heavy snow of as much as three ft in some areas—and as a lot as 8 ft in increased elevations.

“Sierra journey can be treacherous, with a interval of life-threatening blizzard situations sandwiched in for Friday afternoon by way of Saturday morning,” the Nationwide Climate Service mentioned in an alert Thursday morning. “Journey is extremely discouraged in these situations.”

Blizzard warnings are uncommon in Tahoe, however a yr in the past the world noticed two ft of blizzard in 24 hours, with winds of as much as 50 mph. The state has seen file rain and snow for over a yr now.

This storm might see wind gusts on ridge tops exceed 100 mph, forecasters warned—and snow is anticipated to fall at a fee of 1-3 inches per hour beginning this morning and all through the weekend. Snow quantities can be troublesome to measure, they warn, as a result of the sturdy winds will lead to drifts occurring.

And forecasters are utilizing unusually blunt language to warn individuals of the severity of the storm.

“For Sierra areas, don’t get caught up within the ‘worst situations’ timeframe. It’ll be actually dangerous all through all the occasion!” the NWS mentioned Wednesday afternoon.

The worst situations are prone to hit from Friday night by way of Saturday morning, with snowfall charges of as much as 3-5 inches per hour.

The snow’s anticipated to cease Sunday, however that reprieve could possibly be a brief one. Forecast fashions present the potential for one other winter climate system hitting the world starting Monday, which might final by way of the center of the week. Whereas it gained’t be as sturdy as this weekend’s, the NWS factors out “it has the potential to yield some further snowfall.”